Sea Queen
by MelodyPond77
Summary: This is a story that starts right after Ariel leaves for land. It's told in Ursula's point of view, and gives insight to the actual facts of the events... Maybe Ursula wasn't really the bad guy after all. Rated T for minor swearing and violence.
1. Discovery

**Disclaimer: I don't own Little Mermaid. This is supposed to take place right after Ariel leaves for land and before Ursula shows up. It's pretty much correct (I tried not to change any of the events; I just tried to shed them in a different light.) Read and review!**

Sea Queen

Ariel had barely been on land ten minutes when her father barged into my cave. I had been watching my dear niece in my scrying bowl to make sure she had made it to land safely when he entered with a guard of ten heavily armed mermen.

"Have you finally come to visit me in my lonely exile, dear brother?" I asked sarcastically. I knew why my thieving brother Triton was here. I had helped the only daughter of his who actually had a brain in her head escape his clutches. Ariel was the only one who had the guts to go against her father in anything and fight back his oppressiveness.

"You know why I have come, Ursula. Where is she?" he thundered, attempting to cow me. But my little brother had never been able to intimidate me into giving him what he wanted. It was why he had had to figure out a different way to get my crown.

"Obviously not here. My cave isn't exactly the size of your palace, darling," I responded dryly, rolling my eyes. "Can you see any where I could even fit a sixteen year old mermaid, let alone hide one from your men? By all means, though, search away. " I spread my arms wide, gesturing to my humble abode as my tentacles swished slowly below me. Even though I had paid the price of my magic with my tail so long ago, I would never get used to this sluggish substitute.

Triton took my invitation greedily and motioned his men forward to search through my meager belongings. They overturned my baskets of cloth, spilled potions, opened jars of songs and sea foam, and tried to smash my bronze lamp. _ Oh holy Poseidon, I hope he doesn't try to rub it, _I thought as the soldier stupidly tried to crack it open with his spear again. _If my brother knew of its existence, all hell would break loose. _

"I would be careful with these items. You never know what dangers are hidden in a wicked sea witch's cave. You might release something you may not like." I glared icily at the soldier, who quickly put the lamp back on its shelf and began to search my drawers.

As his soldiers searched, Triton turned to me, giving me a cold once-over. It pained me, to be honest; my own brother did little to acknowledge the suffering he had put me through.

"What happened to your tail, Ursula? Each time I see you, you look less and less… Mermaid." He looked at my octopus tentacles with disgust, taking in my stout and flabby arms, my white hair.

"All magic comes with a price. Some prices are higher than others." I reached out for Flotsam and Jetsam, my two sons, whose survival I had exchanged for my tail.

"You changed your sons into eels and paid that price with your tail?" He exclaimed incredulously. "I never did understand your insane actions."

"I exchanged my tail for the lives of my sons when _your_ soldiers tried to murder them! Since when is loving your children enough to make sacrifices an 'insane' action?" I was furious. He ordered the murder of two innocent children and their father, and tried make _me_ the bad guy. "They were no threat to you. Nor was their father."

You see, my close friend, Caspian, had preferred to enter exile with me rather than live in my deceptive brother's court. Triton had seen no problem with this until the birth of our twin sons, making them the legitimate heirs to the throne, as he had had no children by then. He had sent soldiers to my cave at night, fearing a coup, and had murdered my husband and my children that night. I had managed to save my sons in the form of eels, but bringing three back from the dead was too costly.

"Your sons _were_ a threat. They were the only heirs. How did I know you wouldn't try to plan a coup? They needed to be eliminated. So that's what I did." He spoke calmly, as if he were discussing the weather and not the atrocious acts of murder he had ordered.

"And Caspian? What of him? He had no claim to the throne." I intensified my glare, anger pounding in my veins. Caspian's murder had been unnecessary.

"Mermaids only fall in love once in a lifetime. I had to ensure you would have no more children. It became necessary to eliminate him as well. I'm sure you understand."

I floated there for a moment, laid speechless with his blunt confession. His blatant hunger for power, the lengths to which he would go… They scared me. For the first time I feared the merman my brother had become. Before I could respond, though, a soldier shouted out.

"Sir! Look! In the bowl!" He was pointing into my scrying bowl at the images still in the water. Ariel was walking through the castle, wrapped in a white fluffy piece of cloth, surrounded by men and women in gaudy dresses, fussing. I, however, didn't pay much attention to this image at first. I was more interested in the soldier.

I had spelled my scrying bowl so that only those with magic could see the images; the moment Triton and his men had burst in. Knowing my brother's aversion to all magic besides his own, I assumed it would be safe. So either I had cast the spell wrong, which I knew I hadn't, or this soldier had a secret.

I subtly removed the spell on the bowl, so as not to alert Triton to his soldier's powers. I could use him later to keep me informed. Besides, I never found many apprentices, and now that Ariel had gone to land, I had no one to keep my company.

"I knew you had helped her! Tell me at once. _What have you done?!"_ My brother turned towards me, rage filling his eyes, and in the scrying bowl I saw storm clouds gathering outside the windows of Prince Eric's castle.

"Dismiss your soldiers. I will only confess to you in private. No harm will come to you; I promise you that." I swam over to my "sitting room" and settled my bulbous body on a rock. After a moment, he waved for his guards to leave the cave, ordering them to wait outside. He then joined me, his trident in his hand in case I attacked.

"Alright, you have your private audience," he spat. "What have you done to my daughter?" He glared at me, anger still lining his every feature.

I adjusted my tentacles, flouncing them as if they were a skirt and I a proud debutante with no care for the man before me. "I helped her escape. From you." I turned my face towards him, relishing the look of shock on his face.

"You _what?_ Why would she need to escape from me? I'm her father!" He spluttered incredulously.

"She's in love. Like you said, mermaids have the unfortunate ability of falling in love only once. All her life she's been in love- with freedom. She ran away because her oppressive father kept her under lock and key-"

"For her safety!"

"For _your_ safety. She inherited our mother's magical powers. Which made her a threat. But you couldn't bear to execute her with the rest of the magical, so you kept her under lock and key, claiming poor health, hoping no one would find out."

He was quiet for a moment. I don't think he was surprised I knew- I _was_ magical myself.

"How long have you known?" He asked softly.

"She snuck out to visit me a few years back when her powers began manifesting and people started falling under the spell of her voice. She wanted to learn how to control it. I taught her how to sneak out of the castle without your knowledge, and she's been taking lessons from me once a moon ever since."

Triton's face turned mauve with rage, and he looked like he was about to burst. _Well this is going to be fun,_ I thought, bracing myself for the tantrum.

"HOW DARE-"

"I've only been teaching her how to control her voice so she doesn't accidentally reveal her powers. That would just get her killed, and reveal your lies. I wonder how those with family members who were exiled or executed by your laws on magical merfolk would react to the king having a magical daughter? " I rushed to interrupt, hoping I could head off the rant before he destroyed something on land. "And," I added drily, "I happen to like my niece, so it would be a pity if she were executed."

That shut him up. Once he had settled down and looked slightly apologetic for once, I decided to tell him the rest.

"Your daughter came here asking for a deal to go to the mainland. I agreed and gave her legs for three days: Within that time, Prince Eric must kiss her. If not she turns back into a mermaid and holds up her end of the bargain." This was the tricky part. I didn't think he would like the exact terms of our bargain.

"Which are… What did she agree to, Ursula?" He grew in his seat, towering over me.

_Damn, he's getting angry again. Curse my brother's hot temper with all the wrath of the seven seas!_ An angry Triton, especially an angry Triton holding a trident that had the power to wreck the above world and end my life, was not someone anyone, especially me, wanted to deal with. I had a headache from the magic I had performed and the long task of fixing the damage his soldiers had inflicted when they ransacked my room. _This had better be worth it, Ariel. _

"She agreed to come live with me as my apprentice if things didn't work out. That was my price."

"_Your_ price? What was magic's price then?"

"Her voice."

He shot up, aiming his trident at me and glowing red with fury. "HOW DARE YOU ALLOW MY DAUGHTER'S VOICE TO BE TAKEN AWAY!" He roared, straight into my ears.

"Ouch. Relax, I managed to capture it in a shell before it dissipated. As long as she doesn't have it, she'll keep the legs. She can get it back after she gets her prince. True love's kiss should break the spell. If not, she'll be back with me and I can get it for her."

This clearly pained him. He seemed more like the brother I once knew in the moment he realized what the deal meant. Either way, he wasn't getting his daughter back.

_Ariel was wrong, _I thought bitterly, _her father _does_ love her. He just doesn't know how to show it. _

"Ursula, is there a way to get her back? I've learned that Prince Eric will be moving his court inland. Without the sea close by to fuel her body, she won't be able to maintain her life force and she'll turn to sea foam. She may look it, but she isn't fully human, is she?"

Wordlessly, I shook my head. Moving inland? That was problematic. I had to do something to keep Ariel safe. She was the only niece of mine who actually cared for me, and naturally I cared for her as well. But Triton couldn't get what he wanted easily or I would spend the rest of my life being used by him until he had no need for me anymore…

"I have to use heavy magic for this task. I must turn myself into a human to try to warn Ariel and convince Eric to stay by the sea. Ariel can't speak to him about it…"

Then I remembered. Eric knew Ariel's voice! She had sung to him when she rescued him from the storm Triton had sent to sink his ship.

Now I had her voice.

"Triton- I'll make a deal with you. I'll use magic to transform myself into a human, and I'll pay the price for the magic. If I use Ariel's voice, she'll recognize it and know it's me. Eric knows her voice, so he may trust me enough to allow me to convince him to stay. However, in return for my services, I require a hefty price. You pass the crown over to me, the rightful ruler, and you and your daughters will retire to your summer palace, never bothering me again."

"I can't-"

"Then Ariel dies on land. Do you really want that for your youngest daughter?"

Sometimes it does my brother good to feel guilt. Besides, it _was_ my throne.

"I'll only agree if you name one of my daughters your heir. As soon as Ariel is safe, you come back. If anything happens to her, the deal is off. Those are my terms."

I thought it over for a moment. His daughters were mainly silly, vapid girls, but there seemed to be no lasting problem I couldn't fix. I could teach them helpful potions that would save lives, instead of teaching them new ways to wear their hair.

"I have no objection to your daughters. They haven't done anything that seems malicious. As long as you're not in power anymore… Yes, one of your daughters will do fine. I'll have to train them all and see who would fit best, but we can work out that detail later."

He nodded, simply taking my little jab about his coup with silence. "Will your plan work?"

I laughed. He would take it, now I was sure. "Yes. My plan will work. If it doesn't, the deal is off and I go back to my cave, defeated."

He sighed. "I'll keep the deal in mind and look at my options, but-"

"This deal is only being offered now. I need all the time of those three days to work my magic and make sure Ariel is safe. Take it or watch her die on land."

"I'll take it. "

"Good." I gathered Flotsam and Jetsam to me to say goodbye- the price I would pay for magic would be their lives. I would do anything to save Ariel, though.

"Let's get started."


	2. Sacrifice

**Thanks to **** and ****_norisclub_**** for the follow!**

**Josette (Guest review): I didn't mean to make you cry. But thanks? I hope it was because you felt bad for Ursula. That was my goal. If the last chapter made you cry... Well, this one might make you cry, too. So I apologize in advance. **

**Disclaimer and A/N: Still don't own Little Mermaid. Sigh.**

**A/N: I'm officially changing this rating to T. I don't think it was T before. But, um, well I'm sorry for starting out so darkly. That isn't real Latin, by the way. Some of the words are real, but I made up most of it. If you translate it, it's all going to be nonsensical if it means anything at all. Actually if you want some entertainment the words into google translate. It's kinda funny. **

**And I'm really sorry for the shortness of it. I still haven't had a chance to watch the actual movie so I'm still kinda casting about for ideas on how to continue this... The next one may be a while coming but it will be longer. **

Chapter 2:

"_Padricelli maxi motus la voce abrium. Sanctorus actoelli. Muce la sevius moarte." _I chanted over my cauldron, adding in elixirs, crab legs, snails, and other ingredients. "_Sacrificum loum mortecellius samportum. Virgo momentum adoramus la cellorum." _I drew Flotsam closer, raised the sacrificial knife-"_et sacrum convivium MORATIUS!" _The knife slashed down, the cauldron was soaked in blood. "_Collecevi con ritorum madorami."_ I finished the ritual, tears rolling down my cheeks. The price had been paid.

"Ursula?"

"Hand me that chain, Triton. I need to put this shell around my neck. It's the only way I'll be able to use her voice." He silently handed me the chain, and I turned the shell with Ariel's voice into a necklace.

"Ursula, I-" He began again, but I again cut him off.

"I need that snake head of a Gorgon. That bottle right there." I took the bottle he handed me, muttering my thanks. As I added the last ingredient, the cauldron puffed out a green smoke.

"Alright, sign this contract right here." The contract we drew up of our agreement appeared in front of him, golden quill quivering pen point to paper as it waited for the signature.

He sighed, hesitated but a moment, and signed it quickly.

"There. That's settled. Now..." The tricky part of the spell was the chant to change me into a human.

"_Sonomine priori matatum..." _I swirled my hand in the smoke emanating from the cauldron. "_Socronomine la pobetum. Consacrum caridanium. Vive ledius tonbetum." _I inhaled the smoke, and felt a tingling in my hands and feet as I was lifted by tiny air bubbles.

"Remember our promise, brother," I called as I floated up towards the sky, "Three days. Remember!" I continued to float as the transformation completed itself, the pain becoming to great, forcing me to black out.

* * *

I awoke on a beach, completely bare. I, knowing what to expect, had packed a bag with some clothes I had collected from drowned sea farers. Hiding behind a rock, I dressed in a blue gown, shifting uncomfortably on my new feet. Then I started towards the bluffs, climbing towards the shining castle atop the cliffs.

It seemed to take hours to climb those rocks, and by the end of it I was tired, sore, and the bottoms of my tender feet were sliced open. _Oh, you SO owe me, brother. _I cursed Triton in my mind for the pain I was in.

Panting, I stumbled up the large lawn, towards the doors. I was _so _tired...

"Excuse me, miss, are you alright?" A young man, with black hair, was rushing to my side. He grabbed my arms as I began to collapse

_Didn't know that was going to happen. Wow, I really am tired. _I looked into his face, not registering his face at first.

"Miss, what's your name? I should like to know who I'm helping." He asked as he began to lead me back to the castle.

The cadence of his voice sounded familiar... I looked again into the handsome face, surrounded by long, black hair. The kind blue eyes staring back at me were filled with worry. _So THIS is Prince Eric. Well, I guess I can see the appeal. _

I floundered for a name, pretending my hesitant response was due to my weariness and not due to my untruthfulness.

"Vanessa," I finally said. "My name is Vanessa."


End file.
